Alex Shapiro, NBC Sports Chicago Bears Reporter

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Hire high-quality certified pros at angie.com. much better than what we've seen in practice up to this point, and it might be because that defense actually is really good for the Bears. The offense has looked clunky, there have been three snap issues, there have been misconnections, all of that went away during the game. And yes, I know it's the preseason and the Bills are running vanilla stuff, but it's not like they're playing against Scrubs.

There were starters out on the field, and I thought he operated the offense very smoothly, there weren't any of those hiccups, and he made some really impressive throws. Well, when you take a look at the expectations, what have you seen and heard from fans? Have people even ratcheted up the optimism a little bit more?

Are people living in reality, or are they going pie in the sky right now? You know, it's kind of divided. There are some people who are certainly ready to say, yes, we finally got our guy, Caleb Williams looks amazing, let's go, Super Bowl, Super Bears. But then there are some other people who are still, you know, maybe a little skeptical and want to see it in the regular season.

Or, you know, let's be honest, Bears fans haven't seen intriguing quarterback prospects pan out in generations. So I think there's some, you know, maybe fear or hesitation that, you know, you know, if Caleb Williams actually be the guy, or is he going to be the latest guy in a long line of QB prospects who are really intriguing that didn't pan out? So I would say, you know, the city is kind of divided when it comes to expectations for Caleb Williams.

Alex Shapiro is joining us from NBC Sports Chicago. Caleb Williams certainly does have some weapons around him to go to work with. DJ Moore just got his contract, Keenan Allen should still have some juice, Roma Dunze, a young rookie, as well as him. What are your thoughts on how the team is constructed around him? And then also, there's not much that we hear about the offensive line.

What about the guys protecting him? So offensive line is definitely the biggest question mark. There has been a lot of different combinations so far at camp, but it looks like potentially, if everybody says healthy, they might be settling into this lineup that we saw of, oh no, we didn't see it because Ryan Bates, I don't believe played, but it looks like they might be settling into Braxton Jones at left tackle and then moving to the right, Tevin Jenkins, Coleman Hilton, Ryan Bates, Darnell Wright. Now, the depth has been, you know, maybe a little bit concerning where if one of these guys goes down or two of these guys go down, which happens all the time in the NFL, right? Injuries are always happening on the offensive line.

Then there might be issues. But beyond that, everything else, I mean, it looks like the best situation a rookie quarterback could ever hope to enter into in the NFL, right? Especially the number one overall picks. Normally your number one overall pick, you're going to that team because they stunk last year and the bears did not stink last year, you know, they were kind of middle of the road.

Yeah, exactly. And then Ryan polls, I mean, on paper, he has done pretty much everything, everything Caleb Williams could hope for to surround him with playmakers, uh, whether it is the tight ends, the wide receivers, the running backs, and then even the defense, you know, having that great defense that helps the offense because more takeaways equals more opportunities. If they can pin teams back, then they're getting better field position, et cetera, et cetera. So I mean, there will be no excuses. There should not be excuses for lack of talent. You know, the pieces are around Caleb Williams to succeed. When you think about the defense, Alex, this was a team a few years ago, the defense was holding it down while they had no offense. A lot of the young defenders are, were no longer young and they had to kind of restart. How was the defense going to, to kind of keep them competitive in games while the offense is trying to figure things out with this rookie QB? Well, I think, uh, I think they've looked really solid and you can tell that this is a defense that it's not learning a new system.

Uh, they're just, you know, trying to stay healthy, get up to speed, get in game shape and then hit the ground running. Uh, Montez sweat gets all of the attention, but I think a few young players could be in position to take a big step forward. One is defensive tackle, Jervon Dexter.

He's another kind of a question mark player. He played a reserve role last year. This year, they're going to be asking him to be the starting three tech, uh, guys like Austin Booker. You know, he's not going to play a ton of snaps, but I've been really impressed by him in camp and in the preseason and then to Marcus Walker, I think he's a guy who doesn't get enough credit for the value he adds on the defensive line. So the long way of saying, I think the bears will be able to generate some decent pressure with their front four. We've seen Eric Washington and my deeper flutes at times, dial up some interesting blitzes with the linebackers and the slot corner.

Those have been effective. And then I think the bear secondary can go toe to toe with any secondary in the NFL. I mean, there is just so much talent in the back end of that defense from, you know, Kyler Gordon entering your three Jalen Johnson, we got the big contract, uh, incredible shutdown corner who started taking the ball away. Uh, Jaquan Briscoe, when he's healthy as a difference maker and you know, the question was, okay, how are you going to replace the playmaking of Eddie Jackson?

Well, you go out and get Kevin Bayard. He's another just veteran proven playmaker all through out that secondary. There are playmakers. Alex Shapiro is joining us from NBC sports, Chicago. Well, when you put all this in a pot and you move us a little further into the fall and then into the winter, the bears got to compete in the NFC North. The lions are trying to win a championship. The Packers are trying to prove that last year was no fluke. The Vikings are just like, Hey, we got a rookie quarterback too.

When is he going to play? What are you expecting from the bears this year? Is best case scenario sneaking in? Are they supposed to be Texans 2.0?

What do you see? I think best case scenario. Yeah. They're competing for a playoff spot. Uh, now winning the NFC North is going to be tough because as you said, you know, the Packers look like they are just, they remain the Packers Jordan love looked solid. That team looks good. They appear to be, you know, maybe one step or one half step ahead of the bears and they're rebuilt.

That wasn't ever really rebuilt. And the lions, you know, they were a few plays away from making it to the super bowl. Uh, so the lions are obviously going to be, you know, the team to beat in the North. But again, if everything goes right, there's no reason why this team can't compete for, for a wildcard spot or a playoff spot. Um, especially when you're looking the, the beginning of their schedule, it looks pretty, you know, favorable where they don't play a lot of division games. They don't play a lot of tough games until later than that season. Excuse me.

So if they can, you know, trying to get their C legs under them while they're, while their schedule is a little bit more favorable, got a few wins, get some confidence and then hit the tougher part of their schedule where, you know, there may be grooving a little bit more, they'll be in position to make a push. Wow. Alex Shapiro joining us from NBC Sports, Chicago. The last question for you is about a guy who is no longer a bear. Have people stopped asking about Justin Fields? Like people are done with that, right? That, that ship has sailed. Nobody's kind of having memories and warm, fuzzy feelings.

They're done with that. Um, I wouldn't say that. I think bigger fans like to keep tabs on past quarterbacks. You know, fans were following Mitchell Trubisky when he was with the Steelers and Fields was the quarterback. I think people are pulling for Fields and then there is still, I'm telling you, there's still a contingency of fans who say, if Justin Fields was given the amount of playmakers that Caleb Williams had now that Justin Fields would have developed into a great quarterback and you know, maybe the bear should have traded that number one overall pick to get a haul and then surround Justin Fields with all these playmakers and see what he could have done with that. And you know, it is true. Justin Fields never had the compliment of, of talent around him like Caleb Williams is about to have, but, uh, fans fans are definitely still keeping their eye on, on, I guess he's number two now.

Number one who became number two in Pittsburgh. Man, this is, you know what that is, Alex, that's just post traumatic stress for bears fans. That's all it is. Like leave, let Fields carry the bags for Russell Wilson and just get over him. Enjoy Caleb and I hope for the best. That's, that's my advice. I will pass that along to the Chicagoland area. Please do.

I may have to go in and share it myself. Alex, where can people follow you and all of your work in the area? Where can people follow you and all of your work with NBC Sports Chicago? So yeah, you can read my articles on NBC Sports, chicago.com. You can watch or listen to the under center podcasts, all of our episodes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

And we've got them on YouTube as well. And then you can follow me at Alex Shapiro, NBCs on Twitter or X, and you can follow me on Instagram at a chef NBCs. Hey Alex, I hope that you have some playoff football to cover in a few months, man, I hope.

Me too. It would be, you know, we're looking forward to covering some good football. We've paid our dues watching a lot of bad football.

So I'm also, thank you, we're looking forward to watching some good football here. Yeah, and I lied because this just popped into my head thinking about football in Chicago. What's the latest on the, the stadium?

Like what's the latest on that? So Kevin Warren remains focused on building a stadium in the city just south of where Soldier Field is now. I believe that remains their number one goal. But for me, I think it's more likely that it ends up in Arlington Heights.

Excuse me, I'm so sorry. I still believe it ends up being in Arlington Heights. That's where they own the property. Governor JB Pritzker, the last I've heard, still says, hey, the deal, as it's kind of worked up right now, is kind of a nonstarter for the state because the Bears do need to find a lot of tax money to pay for a field in the city.

And they already own the 326 acres in Arlington Heights. I just think that is the path of least resistance. I think it's also the path that makes the most sense. That's where they're going to be able to build Bears World and own Bears World. So if I was a betting man, which I am, I am a betting man, I would bet on the Bears on the Epidemic. Okay, Alex.

Well, I look forward to one day taking a long ass drive out there. So I'll wait and see what happens. Okay. All right. Sounds great.

Christy Pierce-Rampone here, former member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer team, three time gold medalist, two time World Cup champion, and part of the 99 team that won the Women's World Cup, igniting passion for soccer everywhere. I'm mom to two teenage girls and quality time together is prime time. We love to cook and I have an obsession, a healthy one, of course, with cooking utensils.

Where do I turn? Amazon Prime to get them fast. And when they arrive, where do I turn? To Prime to stream the best cooking shows. And then for dessert, what do we do?

The Rampone team streams. Each of us gets to be the captain and pick the show. Right now, we're all over British TV, part of our Prime subscription. I think a trip to the UK is in the future.

And of course, we'll get all we need for that trip from workout clothes to raincoats, from plaids to luggage, from travel guides to umbrellas, from streaming to shopping. It's on Prime. Visit amazon.com prime to get more out of whatever you're into.

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